TWI472986B - Touch device and electrostatic shielding method thereof - Google Patents

Description

Touch device and electrostatic shielding method thereof

The present invention relates to the field of touch technology, and in particular to a touch device and an electrostatic shielding method thereof.

In today's market for consumer electronics products, portable electronic products such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, notebooks, and tablet PCs have been widely used. The touch panel is used as an interface tool for data communication. In addition, since the design of electronic products is in the direction of lightness and thinness, there is not enough space on the product to accommodate traditional input devices such as keyboards and mice, especially under the demand of tablet computers that are designed with humanity in mind. Panels have become one of the key components.

When the conventional touch device transmits or receives a signal, in order to avoid signal interference of other external electronic components on the touch signal, an additional shielding layer is added to the touch device structure, and the anti-shield device is used to increase the resistance of the touch device. Interference ability. However, increasing the shielding layer tends to increase the overall thickness of the touch device, and the manufacturing cost is higher, and the process is more complicated.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a touch device and an electrostatic shielding method thereof, which are used as a conductive shaft for sensing a touch position, and can also be used as a shielding layer without additionally forming a shielding layer to reduce the overall size of the touch device. Thickness and manufacturing cost, and simplify the process, while making the touch device anti-interference.

The present invention provides a touch device including at least one first conductive shaft, a plurality of second conductive units, a plurality of bridge structures, and an insulating layer, wherein each of the first conductive shafts has a plurality of openings, and each of the first The two conductive units are respectively located in the openings, and there is a space between each of the second conductive units and the corresponding first conductive axis, wherein most of the bridge structures are electrically connected to each other. An insulating layer is disposed between the bridging structure and the first conductive shaft, and the insulating layer has a plurality of holes, and the holes are respectively respectively Exposing the corresponding second conductive unit, and the bridge structure is electrically connected to the second conductive unit through the hole in the insulating layer, wherein the second conductive unit receives a driving signal, The first conductive shafts are switched to a ground potential or a fixed potential to electrostatically shield the second conductive units.

The present invention further provides an electrostatic shielding method for a touch device, comprising the steps of: first driving a first conductive shaft, detecting an output signal of the first conductive shaft, obtaining a first direction touch position information, and then switching the first The conductive shaft is grounded to a ground potential or a fixed potential to electrostatically shield a second conductive shaft, and then the second conductive shaft is driven to detect the output signal of the second conductive shaft to obtain a second direction touch position information. Then, combining the touch position information of the first direction and the touch position information of the second direction, a touch position coordinate is calculated.

The touch device and the electrostatic shielding method thereof are used as a conductive shaft for sensing a touch position, and can also be used as a shielding layer, without requiring an additional shielding layer, thereby reducing the overall thickness and manufacturing cost of the touch device. It also simplifies the process and enables the touch device to achieve anti-interference.

1‧‧‧ touch device

2‧‧‧Touch device

3‧‧‧ touch device

10‧‧‧Substrate

12‧‧‧ touch area

14‧‧‧The surrounding area

20‧‧‧First conductive shaft

22‧‧‧Opening

23‧‧‧Separated space

24‧‧‧First left conductive shaft

26‧‧‧First right conductive shaft

28‧‧‧opening area

29‧‧‧Separated space

30‧‧‧Second conductive shaft

32‧‧‧Second conductive unit

34‧‧‧Second conductive unit

36‧‧‧Second conductive unit

38‧‧‧Second conductive unit

42‧‧‧First wire

42a‧‧‧Wire

42b‧‧‧Wire

44‧‧‧second wire

50‧‧‧Insulation

52‧‧‧ holes

62‧‧‧Bridge structure

70‧‧‧Protective layer

S1~S4‧‧‧ steps

1 is a schematic top view showing the structure of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic top view showing the structure of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a schematic top view of the insulating layer in the first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3B is a schematic top view showing the structure of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic top view showing the structure of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of Fig. 4 along section line II'.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a partial structure of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 8 is a schematic top plan view showing a third preferred embodiment of the present invention.

9 to 11 are schematic top plan views showing the other three embodiments of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing an electrostatic shielding method of the touch device of the present invention.

The present invention will be further understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains. .

For the convenience of description, the drawings of the present invention are only for the purpose of understanding the present invention, and the detailed proportions thereof can be adjusted according to the design requirements. As described in the text for the relative relationship between the relative elements in the figure, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that it refers to the relative position of the object, and therefore can be flipped to present the same member, which should belong to the same specification. The scope of the disclosure is hereby stated.

1 to 6 are schematic views showing the structure of a touch device according to a first preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIGS. 1 to 6 , the touch device 1 includes at least one first conductive shaft 20 , a plurality of second conductive units 32 , a plurality of bridge structures 62 , and an insulating layer 50 . Each of the first conductive shafts 20 has a plurality of openings 22, and each of the second conductive units 32 is located in the opening 22, and a region exists between each of the second conductive units 32 and the corresponding first conductive shaft 20. Space 23 to make the second The conductive unit 32 and the corresponding first conductive shaft 20 are electrically insulated from each other, and most of the bridging structures 62 (for example, the bridging structure 62 existing between the first conductive shafts 20) are electrically connected to the two adjacent An insulating layer 50 is disposed between the bridging structure 62 and the first conductive shaft 20, and in other embodiments, a portion of the insulating layer 50 is also stacked on the bridge. Between the structure 62 and the second conductive unit 32, the bridge structure 62 is electrically insulated from the first conductive shaft 20, and the insulating layer 50 has a plurality of holes 52, and the holes 52 respectively expose the corresponding second conductive units. 32. The bridging structure 62 electrically connects the second conductive units 32 through the holes 52 in the insulating layer 50. When the second conductive unit 32 receives a driving signal (not shown), the first conductive shafts 20 are switched to a ground potential or a fixed potential to electrostatically shield the second conductive units 32. .

According to the touch device provided by the embodiment of the present invention, the components of the touch device are separately described in the following steps, but the structure of the touch device is not limited to the forming step.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a touch device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention further includes a substrate 10 . The first conductive shaft 20 and the second conductive unit 32 are disposed on the substrate 10 . Further, the substrate 10 is planned to have a touch area 12 and a peripheral area 14 , and a plurality of first conductive shafts 20 and a plurality of second conductive units 32 are formed in the touch area 12 . Each of the first conductive shafts 20 has a plurality of openings 22, and the first electrode shafts 20 are arranged in parallel along a first direction (for example, a Y-axis). Each of the second conductive units 32 is located in each of the openings 22, and a partition space 23 exists between each of the second conductive units 32 and the corresponding first conductive shaft 20 to make the second conductive unit 32 and the corresponding A conductive shaft 20 is electrically insulated from each other. In this embodiment, the material of the substrate 10 may be selected from the group consisting of glass, acrylic (PMMA), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyphthalic acid. A transparent material such as ethylene glycol ester (PEN), polycarbonate (PC), polystyrene (PS), etc., the first conductive shaft 20 and the second conductive unit 32 material may include various transparent conductive materials, for example, indium tin oxide ( Indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), cadmium tin oxide (CTO), aluminum zinc oxide (AZO), indium tin zinc oxide (indium tin zinc oxide, ITZO), zinc oxide, cadmium Oxide, hafnium oxide (HfO), indium gallium zinc oxide (InGaZnO), indium gallium zinc magnesium oxide (InGaZnMgO), indium gallium magnesium oxide (indium gallium magnesium oxide, InGaMgO) or indium gallium aluminum oxide (InGaAlO) or the like. In addition, the shape of the first conductive shaft 20, the second conductive unit 32 and the opening 22 is substantially rectangular, but may of course be set according to specific requirements. For example, the shape of the second conductive unit 32 and the opening 22 may be circular or diamond. , a regular hexagon, etc., is not limited to the rectangle in this embodiment. It is to be noted that each of the second conductive units 32 is surrounded by the corresponding first conductive shaft 20. In addition, the present embodiment does not limit the order of fabrication of the first conductive shaft 20 and the second conductive unit 32. The same step is formed, or it can be formed by two steps.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of first wires 42 are formed in the touch region 12 and the peripheral region 14 to electrically connect the first conductive shaft 20; and a plurality of second wires 44 are formed only in the peripheral region 14, The second wire 44 is electrically connected to the subsequently completed second conductive shaft. The first wire 42 and the second wire 44 are further connected to an external microprocessor (not shown). The first wire 42 and the second wire 44 are connected. The touch signal emitted by the touch device can be transmitted to the microprocessor, or the driving signal and the switching signal can be received from the microprocessor. The material of the first wire 42 and the second wire 44 may be selected from a metal such as aluminum, copper, silver, or the like or the above transparent conductive material. When the materials of the first wire 42 and the second wire 44 are selected from the first conductive axis 20 and the first When the two conductive units 32 are of the same material, the first conductive line 42 and the second conductive line 44 can be fabricated simultaneously with the first conductive shaft 20 and the second conductive unit 32. It should be noted that the second wire 44 is not yet electrically connected to the second wire unit 32 at this time.

Then, an insulating layer is formed in the touch region 12 and covers the first conductive shaft 20. In other embodiments, the insulating layer may also cover part of the second conductive unit 32, and the upper view of the insulating layer pattern is viewed. As shown in FIG. 3A, a plurality of holes 52 are formed in the middle of the insulating layer 50. After the insulating layer 50 is covered on the touch area 12, as shown in FIG. 3B, the holes 52 respectively expose the second conductive unit 32 as a subsequent bridge. A contact hole of the structure and the second conductive unit 32. In this embodiment, the insulating layer 50 is made of various non-conductive materials, such as polyimide (PI), cerium oxide (SiO ₂ ), tantalum nitride (SiN), cerium oxynitride (SiON), tantalum carbide (SiC). )Wait. After the insulating layer 50 is formed, the second conductive unit 32 is exposed, and the first conductive shaft 20 is covered by the insulating layer 50. However, in other embodiments, some of the first conductive line 42 and the second conductive line 44 may also be Revealed.

Then, a plurality of bridge structures are formed on the insulating layer 50. At this time, the top view of the touch device of the present invention is as shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view along the line II' in FIG. . Referring to FIGS. 4-5, most of the bridging structures 62 are bridge-shaped from the side, and the bridging structure 62 spans the insulating layer 50 and electrically connects the two second conductive units 32 of the two adjacent first conductive shafts 20, The second conductive units 32 are connected in series by the bridge structure 62 to form a plurality of second conductive shafts 30. At the same time, another small portion of the bridging structure 62 also extends to the peripheral region 14 to be electrically connected to each of the second wires 44. The connection between the bridging structure 62 and the second wires 44 enables the second conductive shaft 30 to be touched. The signal is transmitted to an external microprocessor. In the touch device provided by the embodiment of the present invention, since the first conductive shaft 20 surrounds the periphery of each of the second conductive units 32, the first conductive shaft 20 can serve as a shielding layer of the second conductive unit 32, that is, in the first When the two conductive units 32 are driven from the external microprocessor receiving a driving signal, the first conductive shaft 20 is also switched by the microprocessor to a ground potential or to a fixed potential, thereby effectively shielding The interference of the external signal on the second conductive shaft 30, thereby reducing the degree of signal interference of the overall touch device, and since the first conductive shaft 20 can be used for sensing the touch position in the present invention, it can also be used as a shielding layer, so An additional shielding layer is needed to reduce the overall thickness of the touch device, and the utility model can simplify the process and save cost, and at the same time, the touch device can have anti-interference effect.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 6, a protective layer 70 may be stacked on the first wire 42, the second wire 44, and the bridge structure 62, thereby protecting the components stacked on the substrate 10 from moisture in the air. With the destruction of oxygen, the touch device 1 of the present invention is completed. The protective layer 70 may include an inorganic material such as silicon nitride, silicon oxide and silicon oxynitride, an organic material such as an acrylic resin, and other suitable materials.

In addition, the touch device provided by the embodiment of the present invention may further include at least one display unit (not shown) located below the substrate. The display unit can be a liquid crystal display (LCD) or other optical mode group. There is no shielding layer between the substrate and the display unit, and the first conductive axis of the sensing touch position is also used as a shielding layer for shielding the signal interference generated by the display unit or other optical module on the touch device. The overall thickness of the touch device can be reduced, the cost can be reduced, and the process can be simplified.

The invention can be applied to various touch devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs, satellite navigation systems (GPS), etc., for other applications, it is also possible to use printed circuit boards (PCBs) or flexible circuit boards (Flexible). Printed Circuit; FPC) to make the touch device of the present invention.

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, each of the first conductive shafts 20 is arranged in parallel along the first direction (for example, a Y-axis), and the second conductive shaft formed by the bridge structure 62 and the second conductive units 32 are connected in series. The 30 series are arranged in parallel along a second direction (for example, the X axis), and the first direction and the second direction are preferably perpendicular to each other, but are not limited thereto, and may be arranged according to actual needs.

Compared with the prior art, the touch device provided by the present invention is used as a conductive shaft for sensing a touch position, and can also be used as a shielding layer without requiring an additional shielding layer, thereby reducing the overall thickness and fabrication of the touch device. Cost, and simplify the process, and can reduce external electronic signal interference and improve the stability of the touch device.

The different embodiments of the touch device of the present invention are described below, and the following description is mainly for the sake of simplification of the description of the embodiments, and the details are not repeated. In addition, the same elements in the embodiments of the present invention are denoted by the same reference numerals to facilitate the comparison between the embodiments.

7 is a cross-sectional view showing a partial structure of a second preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 7, the difference from the first embodiment is that the bridge structure 62 is disposed on the substrate 10, that is, touched. The control device 2 has a substrate 10, and then a bridge structure 62 is formed on the substrate 10, and then an insulating layer 50 is covered. The insulating layer 50 exposes at least a portion of the bridge structure 62, and then forms a plurality of first conductive shafts 20 and is first. The plurality of second conductive units 32 surrounded by the conductive shaft 20, it is noted that when the second conductive unit 32 is formed, the second conductive unit 32 contacts the underlying bridge structure 62 through the holes in the insulating layer 50. That is, respectively located in two adjacent first conductive shafts 20 The two second conductive units 32 are electrically connected by a bridge structure 62, and the second conductive units 32 in the same axial direction will be electrically connected to each other, and then connected in series to form a second conductive shaft. Finally, a protective layer 70 is stacked on the first conductive shaft 20 and the second conductive units 32 to complete the touch device 2 of the second preferred embodiment of the present invention. Since the bridging structure 62 of the present embodiment is mostly covered by the insulating layer 50, the bridging structure 62 can be hidden under the insulating layer 50 from the top of the touch device, thereby increasing the aesthetics of the touch device 2. The present embodiment can also be applied to a variety of different products. The component materials used in this embodiment are also the same as those in the first preferred embodiment, and are not described herein again.

Please refer to FIG. 8 , which is a schematic top view showing the structure of a third preferred embodiment of the present invention. The first embodiment differs from the first preferred embodiment in that the touch device 3 divides the first conductive shaft into two, respectively being a first left conductive shaft 24 and a first right conductive shaft 26, and a first left conductive shaft. An opening area 28 is defined between the 24 and the first right conductive shaft 26, and each of the second conductive units 32 is located in the opening area 28, and at each second conductive unit 32 and the corresponding first left conductive shaft 24 A partition space 29 exists between the first right conductive shafts 26 to electrically insulate the second conductive unit 32 from the corresponding first left conductive shaft 24 and the first right conductive shaft 26. In this embodiment, since the original one first conductive shaft is divided into two, which are respectively connected by the two wires 42a and the wires 42b, the measurement accuracy of the first direction (the Y direction in the embodiment) can be further improved. In this embodiment, the first left conductive shaft 24 and the first right conductive shaft 26 surround the respective second conductive units 32, so that the shielding effect can also be achieved, which has the same advantages as the first embodiment of the present invention.

Please refer to FIG. 9 to FIG. 11 , which are respectively partially schematic top views showing three other embodiments of the first preferred embodiment of the present invention. For convenience of description, only a portion of the first conductive axis and a second portion are illustrated. The conductive unit is different from the first preferred embodiment of the present invention in that the second conductive unit in each embodiment is a patterned conductive unit to improve the transmittance of the overall touch device. Referring to FIG. 9, each of the second conductive units 34 in this embodiment replaces the second conductive unit that originally presents a rectangle in a horizontal direction S shape. Referring to FIG. 10, each of the second conductive units 36 in this embodiment replaces the second conductive unit that originally presents a rectangle in a vertical direction S shape. As for In the embodiment of the first embodiment and the tenth embodiment, the S-shaped second conductive unit is formed by forming a rectangular second conductive unit by lithography etching, and then etching a plurality of strips thereon. Opening, or directly printing to form a second conductive unit arranged in an S shape. Referring again to FIG. 11, each of the second conductive units 38 in this embodiment has a plurality of small holes in the center. The component materials used in the above embodiments are the same as those in the first preferred embodiment, and are not described herein again. The implementation of the above different changes can improve the transmittance of the overall touch device. Of course, the different embodiments described above can also be integrated with the second or third preferred embodiment of the present invention, and are not limited to only the first A preferred embodiment is subject to change.

It is to be understood that the touch device of the present invention is not limited to the structure or method described in the above embodiments, as long as the first conductive axis and the second conductive axis are in the same layer, and the bridge structure is located on another layer, and A conductive shaft can be used as a shield simultaneously, and is within the scope of the present invention.

According to the touch device provided by the above embodiment, the embodiment of the present invention further provides an electrostatic shielding method of the touch device. 12 is a flow chart of a method for electrostatically shielding a touch device according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 12, the method for electrostatically shielding a touch device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps:

S1: driving the first conductive shaft, and detecting an output signal of the first conductive shaft, the output signal being transmitted by the first wire corresponding to the first conductive axis, and obtaining touch position information in the first direction.

S2: Switch the first conductive axis to a ground potential or a fixed potential (for example, 5V voltage). In this step, the first conductive shaft is connected to the ground potential or the fixed potential, that is, the second conductive shaft forms an electrostatic shielding function to reduce the interference of the external noise signal on the subsequent detection of the output signal of the second conductive shaft.

S3: driving the second conductive shaft to detect the output signal of the second conductive shaft, and the output signal may be transmitted by the second wire corresponding to the second conductive shaft to obtain the second direction touch position information.

S4: Combining the touch position information of the first and second directions, the coordinate of the touch position can be calculated.

In the above embodiment, the driving signal for driving the first conductive shaft and driving the second conductive shaft may be an alternating current signal, such as a pulse signal or a sine wave signal. The output signals of the first wire and the second wire may be the amount of self-capacitance change caused by the touch.

In the electrostatic shielding method of the touch device of the above embodiment, the first conductive shaft can be used for sensing the touch position and can also be used as a shielding layer, so that the interference of the external electronic signal can be reduced, and the touch position detection can be improved. Accuracy.

The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and all changes and modifications made to the scope of the present invention should be within the scope of the present invention.

10‧‧‧Substrate

12‧‧‧ touch area

14‧‧‧The surrounding area

20‧‧‧First conductive shaft

30‧‧‧Second conductive shaft

32‧‧‧Second conductive unit

44‧‧‧second wire

50‧‧‧Insulation

62‧‧‧Bridge structure

Claims (16)

A touch device includes: at least one first conductive shaft and a plurality of second conductive units, wherein each of the first conductive shafts has a plurality of openings, and each of the second conductive units is located in the openings Between each of the second conductive units and the corresponding first conductive axis, there is a partition space; a plurality of bridge structures, wherein a majority of the bridge structures are electrically connected to the two adjacent first conductive Each of the second conductive units adjacent to the shaft; and an insulating layer stacked between the bridge structure and the first conductive shaft, the insulating layer having a plurality of holes, the holes respectively exposing corresponding holes The second conductive unit, and the bridge structures are electrically connected to the second conductive units through the holes in the insulating layer; wherein, in the case that the second conductive units receive a driving signal, the The first conductive shafts are switched to a ground potential or a fixed potential to electrostatically shield the second conductive units. The touch device of claim 1, wherein the second conductive units are a patterned conductive unit. The touch device of claim 1, wherein the second conductive units have a plurality of small holes or elongated openings. The touch device of claim 1, wherein the first conductive shaft comprises a first left conductive shaft and a first right conductive shaft separated from each other, and each of the second conductive units corresponds to The partition space exists between the first left conductive shaft and a first right conductive shaft. The touch device of claim 1, further comprising a substrate, the first conductive shafts and the second conductive units are disposed on the substrate. The touch device of claim 5, further comprising a protective layer stacked on the bridge structures. The touch device of claim 1, further comprising a substrate, the bridge structure being disposed on the substrate. The touch device of claim 7, further comprising a protective layer stacked on the first conductive shafts and the second conductive units. The touch device of claim 1, wherein the bridge structures connect the two adjacent second conductive units adjacent to the first conductive shaft in series to form at least one second conductive shaft. The touch device of claim 9, wherein each of the first conductive shafts is arranged in parallel along a first direction, and each of the second conductive shafts is parallel to a second direction different from the first direction. arrangement. The touch device of claim 10, wherein the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other. The touch device of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of first wires electrically connecting the first conductive shafts, and a plurality of second wires electrically connecting the bridge portions. The touch device of claim 1, wherein the second conductive unit is surrounded by the corresponding first conductive axis. The touch device of claim 5, further comprising at least one display unit located below the substrate. The touch device of claim 14, wherein no shielding layer exists between the substrate and the display unit. An electrostatic shielding method for a touch device includes the steps of: driving a first conductive shaft, detecting an output signal of the first conductive shaft, obtaining a first direction touch position information; and switching the first conductive shaft to a ground potential Or a fixed potential to electrostatically shield a second conductive shaft; driving the second conductive shaft to detect an output signal of the second conductive shaft to obtain a second direction touch position information; and combining the first direction The touch position information and the second direction touch position information calculate a touch position coordinate.